Originally Posted by
webuyselltradestuff
you CAN put copyright on all your text...and if he copies it, get a cease and desist sent to him on a lawyer letterhead. If that doesn't work, sue him in small claims
I purposely didn't address this comment because it contained an ambiguous statement. If you are talking about having your attorney send a cease and desist letter, that's a good idea. I figured that's what you meant, so I didn't address that part of your comment. But it can also be taken as a suggestion to copy your lawyer's letterhead and draft your own letter on it. That can get someone into a lot of hot water.
As for suing for monetary damages in small claims court, I would definitely contact an attorney before doing so. Monetary damages for loss of business due to a copyright breach needs to be documented and proven, and for most of us it's a difficult thing to do.
Originally Posted by
webuyselltradestuff
Actually you CAN do a simple DCMA takedown notice by the poorman's copywright (ie just putting that the text it is copyrighted, etc). Usually that is enough to scare people off. I have only had to send a DCMA once...someone was displaying a logo they they said they made for me...which was NOT true. I sent it to their ISP since I could not find a way to send directly to the owner (they didn't list anything at whois). Let's just say it was down within 24 hours....otherwise the hosting isp ha to shut off their site. Now not quite the same with CL, but I still think they would pay attention to a DCMA.
Anyways, plenty of other ways to handle it as myself and others have noted. People are pricks, sometimes you have to choose to play the game differently because you understand the rules better than they do...far too easy to hurt someones pocket. Oh and Karms...she a B%^&h when she comes around in most cases.
I had a similar, but different situation a few years ago. I had to deal with a competitor who used unfair and misleading statements on their website, which is also illegal. I sent a "friendly" email to them asking them to remove or modify those statements. Nothing happened. So I contacted and hired an attorney who specialized in that area. I don't want to go into any more detail than that, but suffice to say that you can't expect a letter from an attorney to change everything for the better. Your attorney should also point out any further legal remedies that are available and how much it would cost to pursue them, including the filing costs.
Also, I have experienced someone copying my Craigslist ads word-for-word and posting them on other advertising sites. One of those ads was placed on a site run out of China, believe it or not. I tried to get it taken down but nothing happened. It's still happens from time to time. I have recently found three of my ads placed on other sites, word for word. I chose to do nothing because they left my website information intact.
In addition, recently someone posted an ad on Craigslist claiming I stole their "stuff" and that I am not to be trusted. I chose to respond to that ad and post a rebuttal rather than contact an attorney. While I'm not ruling out taking legal action in the future, hopefully the action I took was sufficient. Again, I don't want to give any more information away because I can't be sure this issue is over.
I want to make sure it is understood that in no way am I trying to hijack this thread. I'm not looking for any further advice. I just want the OP to know that he's not the only one in this boat. Just remember that if you do decide to take action, stop and contact an attorney first.
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